27/04/2026
PRESS RELEASE | DOJ secures court nod in convicting BIR revenue officer for money laundering
The Department of Justice (DOJ) obtained a favorable court ruling to convict a Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) employee in Zamboanga City for multiple counts of money laundering which amounted to more than half a million pesos, following complaints filed by the Anti-Money Laundering Council Secretariat (AMLCS).
The case was successfully prosecuted by Senior Assistant State Prosecutor Mary Jane Sytat along with AMLC Legal Officers Atty. Charlemagne Tambo and Atty. Claudine Joy Gonzales.
Stemming from predicate charges of direct bribery, robbery with intimidation and violation of Republic Act No. 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act filed before the Prosecutor's Office in Zamboanga City, the Zamboanga City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 12 convicted BIR Revenue Officer IV Flora Sarau Albao of Revenue District No. 93A of BIR Zamboanga City, for violations of Sections 4(a) and 4(b) of RA 9160, as amended.
Court records revealed that accused Albao was initially apprehended in an entrapment operation conducted by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on 27 May 2022 for allegedly extorting P500,000.00 money from a certain Ms. Ledesma, an incident reported in the media, which triggered NBI coordination with the AMLC.
AMLC investigations revealed Albao maintained 36 bank accounts across four banking institutions, namely: Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), Philippine National Bank (PNB), Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. (Metrobank), and Banco de Oro (BDO).
As a Revenue Officer IV with an equivalent pay of Salary Grade 19, Albaoโs monthly income was P49,835 per month with an annual income equivalent to P598,020, yet she deposited an average of P93,000 from May to August 2022 which is more than double her salary during that period.
"Public office demands a higher standard of accountability and integrity. Those entrusted with the privilege to serve must not only perform with excellence, but also uphold the highest degree of candor in all their dealingsโthis is the benchmark that our Bagong Pilipinas government will never compromise,โ Justice Secretary Fredderick A. Vida stressed.
In ruling the case, the court found Albao guilty for multiple counts of money laundering, ordering her imprisonment for 7 to 13 years for the first 6 money laundering cases with a P3-million fine for each count; and 4 to 6 years of imprisonment for the remaining 6 money laundering cases with a P1.5-million fine for each count.
The RTC Branch 12 sentenced Albao to 7 to 13 years of imprisonment for the first 6 money laundering cases with with a P3-million for each count; and 4 to 6 years of imprisonment for the remaining 6 money laundering cases with a P1.5-million fine for each count, to be served successively.
This case underscores the Departmentโs commitment to prosecuting cases involving money laundering and upholding the rule of law.
